NHL: Ducks edge Wild in Playoff opener
{{date|April 11, 2007}}

''Ducks lead series 1-0. (Best of Seven)''
{{MatchScore|Minnesota Wild|1|2|Anaheim Ducks}}
{{Stanley Cup Playoffs 2007}}

Dustin Penner scored the game winning goal with 5:20 remaining in regulation, and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Minnesota Wild 2-1, Wednesday night. The Ducks took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series, thanks in part to Penner's goal. 

After a scoreless first period highlighted by good defensive play from both teams, Pavol Demitra scored the game's first goal in the second, beating Anaheim goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead. 3:51 later, Teemu Selanne scored on a breakaway, knotting the score up at 1-1. 

With the score tied in the third, the Ducks picked up a rebound off a shot by the Wild. Quickly, the Ducks mounted a counter-attack, passing the puck up to Penner. Penner shot from the left side of the net, but the puck was stopped by Minnesota goaltender Nicklas Backstrom. However, the puck would richochet off of the pad of Backstrom, allowing Penner to shove the puck into the net, sealing the Ducks win. Commenting on his score after the game in the post game press conference, Penner said: "If the puck didn't go in after the initial shot I wanted to be able to pick up any loose change." And that was exactly what he did.

== Scoring Summary ==
{| border=1 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 style="margin: 1em 1em ; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%; width:98%; border-bottom: none;" align=center
!colspan="7" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-collapse: collapse; border-top: none;"|<center>Scoring Summary</center>
|- style="background: #e9e9e9"   
! No. !! Period !! Time !! Team !! Scorer (No.) !! Assists !! Score
|- 
|1 || 2nd || 6:01 || MIN ||  Pavol Demitra (1) || Kurtis Foster, Marian Gaborik || 0-1
|-
|2 || 2nd || 9:52 || ANA || Teemu Selanne (1) || Francois Beauchemin || 1-1
|-
|3 || 3rd || 14:40 || ANA || Dustin Penner (1) || Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf || 2-1  
|-
|}

== Goaltending ==
{| border=1 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 style="margin: 1em 1em ; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%; width:98%; border-bottom: none;" align=center
!colspan="7" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-collapse: collapse; border-top: none;"|<center>Goaltending</center>
|- style="background: #e9e9e9"   
! Team !! Player !! Shots !! Saves !! Save Pct. !!
|- 
|MIN || Nicklas Backstrom || 34 || 32 || .941
|-
|ANA|| Ilya Bryzgalov || 25 || 24 || .960 
|-
|}

== Three Stars of the Game ==
* '''#1''' = {{w|Teemu Selanne|Teemu Selanne}}, RW, ''Anaheim Ducks'' - 1 Goal
* '''#2''' = {{w|Chris Pronger|Chris Pronger}}, D, ''Anaheim Ducks'' - 3 Shots on Goal
* '''#3''' = {{w|Samuel Pahlsson|Samuel Pahlsson}}, C, ''Anaheim Ducks''

== External links ==
* [http://www.anaheimducks.com Official Website of the Anaheim Ducks]
* [http://www.minnesotawild.com Official Website of the Minnesota Wild]
* [http://www.nhl.com National Hockey League Official Website]

== Sources ==
* [http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20062007/GS030171.HTM NHL Online ReportViewer - Game Summary]
* [http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20062007/ES030161.HTM NHL Online ReportViewer - Event Summary]
* [http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20062007/PL030161.HTM NHL Online ReportViewer Play-by-Play]

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[[Category:North America]]
[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:Sports]]
[[Category:National Hockey League]]
[[Category:Stanley Cup Playoffs 2007]]
[[Category:Anaheim Ducks]]
[[Category:Anaheim, California]]
[[Category:Minnesota Wild]]
[[Category:Ice hockey]]
Ducks lead series 1-0. (Best of Seven)

Dustin Penner scored the game winning goal with 5:20 remaining in regulation, and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Minnesota Wild 2-1, Wednesday night. The Ducks took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series, thanks in part to Penner's goal. 

After a scoreless first period highlighted by good defensive play from both teams, Pavol Demitra scored the game's first goal in the second, beating Anaheim goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead. 3:51 later, Teemu Selanne scored on a breakaway, knotting the score up at 1-1. 

With the score tied in the third, the Ducks picked up a rebound off a shot by the Wild. Quickly, the Ducks mounted a counter-attack, passing the puck up to Penner. Penner shot from the left side of the net, but the puck was stopped by Minnesota goaltender Nicklas Backstrom. However, the puck would richochet off of the pad of Backstrom, allowing Penner to shove the puck into the net, sealing the Ducks win. Commenting on his score after the game in the post game press conference, Penner said: "If the puck didn't go in after the initial shot I wanted to be able to pick up any loose change." And that was exactly what he did.
North America United States Sports National Hockey League Stanley Cup Playoffs 2007 Anaheim Ducks Anaheim, California Minnesota Wild Ice hockey